SULAIMAN PREDICTS PACQUIAO- MAYWEATHER FIGHT WILL HAPPEN
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 13 May 2010
World Boxing Council president Don Jose Sulaiman believes, just like Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, that the fight the world wants to see between pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao and his predecessor, undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr, will happen.
Sulaiman also believes that the showdown with Mayweather will be Pacquiao?s last fight considering that his mother Dionisia who wanted him to retire had given him permission to fight one last time.
Sulaiman told us in an overseas telephone conversation ?I believe that he should fight one more fight against Floyd Mayweather and nobody else, make a lot of money and then hangs up his gloves? and focus on politics.
The WBC president said he ?will be there for a long, long time because he is close to the people, he listens to the people and he can be a real representative of the people. Talk to the people, find out what they want and fight for them because he has now become a real hero in the Philippines and not only in the Philippines but all over the world.?
Don Jose described Pacquiao as ?a nice guy, his feet are on the ground, he?s quite humble when he talks to the people when he comes over here and he is a very nice fellow.?
Arum, prior to returning to Las Vegas after a six day visit to the Philippines where he witnessed the elections in Sarangani province where Pacquiao won the lone congressional seat in a stunning landslide victory over Roy Chiongbian of the wealthy Chiongbian clan in the province said he had a November 13 date for a possible Mayweather fight.
Arum told us he would do everything possible to make the fight happen with two venues already available ? the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Texas where Pacquiao drew some 51,000 fans for his fight against Joshua Clottey or the MGM Grand Garden Arena where Mayweather beat Shane Mosley before less than 16,000 fight fans in a much smaller venue than Dallas.
In a conversation with well-known multi-media correspondent James Blears in Mexico City, Sulaiman said he believes that ?the ambition of Manny Pacquiao is to some day become the President, and I believe that he could!?
Sulaiman congratulated Pacquiao on his congressional victory and indicated that the ?Fighter of the Decade? whose natural competitive spirit is well known will help him achieve greater success in his quest for higher office.
Don Jose told Blears ?Manny lost last time, but now he?s had an overwhelming victory. I believe he wants to be the representative of the people, to bring to the house what the people want. And I think that is a great accomplishment.?
The congressman-elect was featured on ABC News ?Nightline? Tuesday night told the program that he wants to be ?a good leader and a good public servant.?
Pacquiao?s appearance on the widely-watched program was regarded as another achievement for Pacquiao who had previously made several appearances on the popular ?Jimmy Kimmel Live,? ?Good Morning America and has also been featured in Sports Illustrated, on the cover of Time Magazine?s Asia edition, ESPN The Magazine, Gentlemen?s Quarterly and a number of other local and regional magazines.
For the second consecutive time Pacquiao was also named to Time Magazine?s 2010 poll of the 100 most influential people in the world. He was at No. 36.
Pacquiao was also named ?Fighter of the Decade? by the respected Boxing Writers Association of America beating Floyd Mayweather by an overwhelming 2-to-1 margin and was named for the third time as ?Fighter of the Year.?
He will be honored at the 85th Annual Boxing Writers Association of America's (BWAA) Awards Dinner at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York on June 4.
Pacquiao also recently received his award as ?Fighter of the Decade? at the Annual Gabriel ?Flash? Elorde Awards Night in Manila and as the Philippine Sportswriters Association?s ?Athlete of the Year.? The late ?Flash? Elorde reigned as world junior lightweight champion for almost seven-and-a half years and is enshrined in the ?Boxing Hall of Fame.?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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